A healthcare-associated group A Streptococcus outbreak involving six patients, four healthcare workers, and one household contact occurred in the labor and delivery unit of an academic medical center. Isolates were highly related by whole genome sequencing. Infection prevention measures, healthcare worker screening, and chemoprophylaxis of those colonized halted further transmission.

Depression and eating disorder (ED) risk are heightened during adolescence(1) and both were exacerbated during COVID-19 lockdowns. This analysis reports changes in self-reported symptoms of depression and eating disorders throughout the Fast Track to Health trial. Fast Track to Health was a 52-week multi-site randomised-controlled trial, conducted 2018-2023, comparing intermittent (IER) and continuous energy restriction (CER) in adolescents with obesity and ≥1 associated comorbidity(2). The Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-revised 10-item version for adolescents (CESDR) was used to assess symptoms of depression (no symptoms, sub-threshold, or possible, probable, major depressive episode). Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) was used to assess ED risk; defined as global score ≥2.7, ≥2 episodes of binge eating with/without loss of control, or ≥1 episode of purging within the last 28-days. The Binge Eating Scale (BES) assessed severity of binge eating (no binge eating, mild/moderate, severe). Adolescents were monitored for disordered eating during dietetic consults. Linear mixed models, retaining all data consistent with intention-to-treat analysis, were used to estimate the change in outcomes from baseline to week-52. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the number of participants meeting screening criteria at baseline and week-52. One hundred and forty one adolescents were enrolled and 97 completed the trial, with median (IQR) EDE-Q score 2.28 (1.43 to 3.14), CESDR 9.00 (4.0 to 14.5) and BES 11.0 (5.0 to 17.0) at baseline. EDE-Q (change in estimated marginal means [SE], IER −0.63 [0.18], CER −0.56 [0.17]) and CESDR (IER −2.70 [1.15], CER −3.87 [1.07]) scores reduced between baseline and week-52 in both groups (p<0.05) with no difference between groups. There was a between group difference (p = 0.019) in change in BES. The IER group had a reduction between baseline and week-52 (−3.72 [1.27]) and the CER group had no change. At baseline, 31 (22%) adolescents were classified as having a possible/probable/major depressive episode, 110 (78%) met ≥1 ED criteria and 28 (21%) as mild/moderate or severe binge eating, reducing to 8 (9%), 56 (61%) and 15 (16%) respectively at week-52. A small sub-group of adolescents required additional support for disordered eating. Overall, treatment-seeking adolescents with obesity have symptoms of depression and ED. Although symptoms reduce for most, some required additional support. Screening and monitoring for depression and ED are important to ensure early intervention.

Adolescent obesity requires effective and accessible intervention options and there is potential for intensive dietary interventions to be used as adjunctive therapy to behavioural weight management for some individuals(1). The aim of this study was to determine the effect of two novel diet therapies, delivered in the as part of an intensive behavioural weight management intervention, in adolescents with metabolic complications associated with obesity. The Fast Track to Health study (HREC/17/SCHN/164; ACTRN12617001630303) was a multi-site 52-week RCT, conducted 2018 – 2023, comparing a very-low-energy diet (800kcal/day) followed by i) an intermittent energy restricted (IER) diet; and ii) a continuous energy restricted diet (CER), for adolescents (13-17years) with ≥1 obesity associated complication. Interventions were delivered as part of an intensive behavioural weight management intervention by a multidisciplinary team2. Anthropometry, body composition and cardiometabolic health were assessed at baseline and week-52. The primary outcome was change in BMI z-score at week-52. Dyslipidaemia was defined as HDL <1.03mmol/L and/or triglycerides ≥1.7mmol/l, and elevated liver function tests (LFTs) as ALT and/or GGT ≥1.5 upper limit of 30U/L3. The difference in BMI z-score between groups at week-52 (±4) was assessed using a t-test. Mixed models was used to investigate changes over time. Descriptive statistics were used to describe participants above and below clinical cut-points at baseline and week-52. In total, 141 adolescents (70 female) were enrolled and 97 (48 female) completed the intervention. At week-52, BMI z-score reduced by −0.23 [95%CI −0.37 to −0.22], BMI expressed as a percentage of 95th percentile reduced by −8.86 [95%CI −12.46 to −7.47] and Fat Mass Index reduced by −1.49 [95%CI −2.36 to −1.08]. There was no significant difference for weight or cardiometabolic outcomes between diet groups. The occurrence of dyslipidaemia was unchanged between baseline and week-52 (n = 60 [43%] and n = 37 [43%] respectively) and a small improvement in the occurrence of impaired LFTs (n = 37 [27%] to n = 15 [17.2%] respectively). There were no differences in change of occurrence of dyslipidaemia or impaired LFTs between intervention groups. These findings suggest that both IER and CER, delivered as part of an intensive behavioural weight management program, are equally effective for improving weight and cardiometabolic outcomes for adolescents with obesity.

We report the discovery of a bow-shock pulsar wind nebula (PWN), named Potoroo, and the detection of a young pulsar J1638$-$4713 that powers the nebula. We present a radio continuum study of the PWN based on 20-cm observations obtained from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and MeerKAT. PSR J1638$-$4713 was identified using Parkes radio telescope observations at frequencies above 3 GHz. The pulsar has the second-highest dispersion measure of all known radio pulsars (1 553 pc cm$^{-3}$), a spin period of 65.74 ms and a spin-down luminosity of $\dot{E}=6.1\times10^{36}$ erg s$^{-1}$. The PWN has a cometary morphology and one of the greatest projected lengths among all the observed pulsar radio tails, measuring over 21 pc for an assumed distance of 10 kpc. The remarkably long tail and atypically steep radio spectral index are attributed to the interplay of a supernova reverse shock and the PWN. The originating supernova remnant is not known so far. We estimated the pulsar kick velocity to be in the range of 1 000–2 000 km s$^{-1}$ for ages between 23 and 10 kyr. The X-ray counterpart found in Chandra data, CXOU J163802.6$-$471358, shows the same tail morphology as the radio source but is shorter by a factor of 10. The peak of the X-ray emission is offset from the peak of the radio total intensity (Stokes $\rm I$) emission by approximately 4.7$^{\prime\prime}$, but coincides well with circularly polarised (Stokes $\rm V$) emission. No infrared counterpart was found.

Felt presence is a widely occurring experience, but remains under-recognised in clinical and research practice. To contribute to a wider recognition of the phenomenon, we aimed to assess the presentation of felt presence in a large population sample (n = 10 447) and explore its relation to key risk factors for psychosis. In our sample 1.6% reported experiencing felt presence in the past month. Felt presence was associated with visual and tactile hallucinations and delusion-like thinking; it was also associated with past occurrence of adverse events, loneliness and poor sleep. The occurrence of felt presence may function as a marker for general hallucination proneness.

To improve contact tracing for healthcare workers, we built and configured a Bluetooth low-energy system. We predicted close contacts with great accuracy and provided an additional contact yield of 14.8%. This system would decrease the effective reproduction number by 56% and would unnecessarily quarantine 0.74% of employees weekly.

We present the third data release from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project. The release contains observations of 32 pulsars obtained using the 64-m Parkes ‘Murriyang’ radio telescope. The data span is up to 18 yr with a typical cadence of 3 weeks. This data release is formed by combining an updated version of our second data release with $\sim$3 yr of more recent data primarily obtained using an ultra-wide-bandwidth receiver system that operates between 704 and 4032 MHz. We provide calibrated pulse profiles, flux density dynamic spectra, pulse times of arrival, and initial pulsar timing models. We describe methods for processing such wide-bandwidth observations and compare this data release with our previous release.

Background: SMA affects individuals with a broad age range and spectrum of disease severity. Risdiplam (EVRYSDI®) is a centrally and peripherally distributed, oral SMN2 pre-mRNA splicing modifier. Methods: SUNFISH is a multicenter, two-part, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study in patients with Types 2/3 SMA. Part 1 assessed the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of different risdiplam dose levels in patients with Types 2/3 SMA. Part 2 assessed the efficacy and safety of the selected dose of risdiplam versus placebo in Type 2 and non-ambulant Type 3 SMA. In Part 2, participants were treated with risdiplam or placebo for 12 months, then received risdiplam in a blinded manner until month 24. At month 24, patients were offered the opportunity to enter the open-label extension phase. Results: Change from baseline in MFM32 total score (Part 2- primary endpoint) in patients treated with risdiplam versus placebo was met at month 12. These increases in motor function were sustained in the second and third year after risdiplam treatment. Here we present 4-year efficacy and safety data from SUNFISH. Conclusions: SUNFISH is ongoing and will provide further long-term efficacy and safety data of risdiplam in a broad population of individuals with SMA.

Direct numerical simulation data obtained from four pairs of turbulent, lean hydrogen–air, complex-chemistry flames are analysed to explore the influence of molecular diffusion on flame surface density, displacement speed $S_d$ and the flame surface density transport equation terms. Each pair involves (i) a flame where mixture-averaged molecular diffusivities are adopted and Lewis number $Le$ is significantly less than unity and (ii) an equidiffusive flame where all molecular diffusivities are set equal to molecular heat diffusivity of the mixture and $Le=1$, with other things being equal. Reported results show that significantly higher turbulent burning rates simulated in the former flames result mainly from an increase in the local fuel consumption rate, whereas an increase in flame surface area plays a secondary role, especially in more intense turbulence. The rate increase stems from (i) an increase in the peak local fuel consumption rate and (ii) an increase in a width of a zone where the rate is significant. The latter phenomenon is of more importance in richer flames and both phenomena are most pronounced in the vicinity of the flame leading edges, thus indicating a crucial role played by the leading edge of a premixed turbulent flame in its propagation. Moreover, mean displacement speed differs significantly from the laminar flame speed even in the equidiffusive flames, varies substantially across flame brush and may be negative at the leading edges of highly turbulent flames.

In Paper I, we presented an overview of the Southern-sky MWA Rapid Two-metre (SMART) survey, including the survey design and search pipeline. While the combination of MWA’s large field-of-view and the voltage capture system brings a survey speed of ${\sim} 450\, {\textrm{deg}}^{2}\,\textrm{h}^{-1}$, the progression of the survey relies on the availability of compact configuration of the Phase II array. Over the past few years, by taking advantage of multiple windows of opportunity when the compact configuration was available, we have advanced the survey to 75% of the planned sky coverage. To date, about 10% of the data collected thus far have been processed for a first-pass search, where 10 min of observation is processed for dispersion measures out to 250 ${\textrm{pc cm}}^{-3}$, to realise a shallow survey that is largely sensitive to long-period pulsars. The ongoing analysis has led to two new pulsar discoveries, as well as an independent discovery and a rediscovery of a previously incorrectly characterised pulsar, all from ${\sim} 3\% $ of the data for which candidate scrutiny is completed. In this sequel to Paper I, we describe the strategies for further detailed follow-up including improved sky localisation and convergence to timing solution, and illustrate them using example pulsar discoveries. The processing has also led to re-detection of 120 pulsars in the SMART observing band, bringing the total number of pulsars detected to date with the MWA to 180, and these are used to assess the search sensitivity of current processing pipelines. The planned second-pass (deep survey) processing is expected to yield a three-fold increase in sensitivity for long-period pulsars, and a substantial improvement to millisecond pulsars by adopting optimal de-dispersion plans. The SMART survey will complement the highly successful Parkes High Time Resolution Universe survey at 1.2–1.5 GHz, and inform future large survey efforts such as those planned with the low-frequency Square Kilometre Array (SKA-Low).

We present an overview of the Southern-sky MWA Rapid Two-metre (SMART) pulsar survey that exploits the Murchison Widefield Array’s large field of view and voltage-capture system to survey the sky south of 30$^{\circ}$ in declination for pulsars and fast transients in the 140–170 MHz band. The survey is enabled by the advent of the Phase II MWA’s compact configuration, which offers an enormous efficiency in beam-forming and processing costs, thereby making an all-sky survey of this magnitude tractable with the MWA. Even with the long dwell times employed for the survey (4800 s), data collection can be completed in $<$100 h of telescope time, while still retaining the ability to reach a limiting sensitivity of $\sim$2–3 mJy (at 150 MHz, near zenith), which is effectively 3–5 times deeper than the previous-generation low-frequency southern-sky pulsar survey, completed in the 1990s. Each observation is processed to generate $\sim$5000–8000 tied-array beams that tessellate the full $\sim 610\, {\textrm{deg}^{2}}$ field of view (at 155 MHz), which are then processed to search for pulsars. The voltage-capture recording of the survey also allows a multitude of post hoc processing options including the reprocessing of data for higher time resolution and even exploring image-based techniques for pulsar candidate identification. Due to the substantial computational cost in pulsar searches at low frequencies, the survey data processing is undertaken in multiple passes: in the first pass, a shallow survey is performed, where 10 min of each observation is processed, reaching about one-third of the full-search sensitivity. Here we present the system overview including details of ongoing processing and initial results. Further details including first pulsar discoveries and a census of low-frequency detections are presented in a companion paper. Future plans include deeper searches to reach the full sensitivity and acceleration searches to target binary and millisecond pulsars. Our simulation analysis forecasts $\sim$300 new pulsars upon the completion of full processing. The SMART survey will also generate a complete digital record of the low-frequency sky, which will serve as a valuable reference for future pulsar searches planned with the low-frequency Square Kilometre Array.

Understanding how time averaging changes during burial is essential for using Holocene and Anthropocene cores to analyze ecosystem change, given the many ways in which time averaging affects biodiversity measures. Here, we use transition-rate matrices to explore how the extent of time averaging changes downcore as shells transit through a taphonomically complex mixed layer into permanently buried historical layers: this is a null model, without any temporal changes in rates of sedimentation or bioturbation, to contrast with downcore patterns that might be produced by human activity. Assuming stochastic burial and exhumation movements of shells between increments within the mixed layer and stochastic disintegration within increments, we find that almost all combinations of net sedimentation, mixing, and disintegration produce a downcore increase in time averaging (interquartile range [IQR] of shell ages), this trend is typically associated with a decrease in kurtosis and skewness and by a shift from right-skewed to symmetrical age distributions. A downcore increase in time averaging is thus the null expectation wherever bioturbation generates an internally structured mixed layer (i.e., a surface, well-mixed layer is underlain by an incompletely mixed layer): under these conditions, shells are mixed throughout the entire mixed layer at a slower rate than they are buried below it by sedimentation. This downcore trend created by mixing is further amplified by the downcore decline in disintegration rate. We find that transition-rate matrices accurately reproduce the downcore changes in IQR, skewness, and kurtosis observed in bivalve assemblages from the southern California shelf. The right-skewed shell age-frequency distributions typical of surface death assemblages—the focus of most actualistic research—might be fossilized under exceptional conditions of episodic anoxia or sudden burial. However, such right-skewed assemblages will typically not survive transit through the surface mixed layer into subsurface historical layers: they are geologically transient. The deep-time fossil record will be dominated instead by the more time-averaged assemblages with weakly skewed age distributions that form in the lower parts of the mixed layer.

The EU-funded Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) research project (2011-2015) aimed to improve animal welfare through the development of practical on-farm animal welfare assessment protocols. The present study describes the application of the AWIN approach to the development of a welfare assessment protocol for horses (Equus caballus). Its development required the following steps: (i) selection of potential welfare indicators; (ii) bridging gaps in knowledge; (iii) consulting stakeholders; and (iv) testing a prototype protocol on-farm. Compared to existing welfare assessment protocols for other species, the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses introduces a number of innovative aspects, such as implementation of a two-level strategy focused on improving on-farm feasibility and the use of electronic tools to achieve standardised data collection and so promote rapid outcomes. Further refinement to the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses is needed in order to firstly gather data from a larger reference population and, secondly, enhance the welfare assessment protocol with reference to different horse housing and husbandry conditions.

The adaptability of horses and donkeys to different types of activity has seen the European equine industry become an important economic sector, giving rise to increasing concern regarding equine welfare. As part of the AWIN (Animal Welfare Indicators) project, this review focuses on scientific literature to find potential animal-based welfare indicators — the initial step in developing a valid, reliable and feasible on-farm welfare assessment protocol for equines. Forty-nine indicators were considered and classified in accordance with the four Principles and twelve Criteria developed by Welfare Quality®. Only practical indicators specifically for on-farm use were included, those requiring the use of specific instruments or laboratory analysis were excluded. Academic scientists, partners and collaborators of the AWIN project, discussed and agreed on validity, reliability, on-farm feasibility and acceptance by farmers for each indicator. Some aspects of equine welfare have been thoroughly investigated and appear to have indicators ready for on-farm use (eg ‘absence of prolonged hunger’, ‘absence of injuries and diseases’). On the other hand, a lack of animal-based measures were identified for other Criteria such as ‘absence of pain’ and ‘positive emotional state’. Ongoing research within the AWIN project has begun exploring some of the aforementioned Criteria — these preliminary results of promising indicators have been included (eg Horse Grimace Scale and Qualitative Behaviour Assessment). Further research should address the validity and reliability of indicators, such as human-animal relationship tests and signs of cold stress. As well as for working equines, the development and application of a welfare assessment protocol could be the first step for enhancing on-farm equine welfare.

As TeV gamma-ray astronomy progresses into the era of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), there is a desire for the capacity to instantaneously follow up on transient phenomena and continuously monitor gamma-ray flux at energies above $10^{12}\,\mathrm{eV}$ . To this end, a worldwide network of Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) is required to provide triggers for CTA observations and complementary continuous monitoring. An IACT array sited in Australia would contribute significant coverage of the Southern Hemisphere sky. Here, we investigate the suitability of a small IACT array and how different design factors influence its performance. Monte Carlo simulations were produced based on the Small-Sized Telescope (SST) and Medium-Sized Telescope (MST) designs from CTA. Angular resolution improved with larger baseline distances up to 277 m between telescopes, and energy thresholds were lower at 1 000 m altitude than at 0 m. The ${\sim} 300\,\mathrm{GeV}$ energy threshold of MSTs proved more suitable for observing transients than the ${\sim}1.2\,\mathrm{TeV}$ threshold of SSTs. An array of four MSTs at 1 000 m was estimated to give a 5.7 $\sigma$ detection of an RS Ophiuchi-like nova eruption from a 4-h observation. We conclude that an array of four MST-class IACTs at an Australian site would ideally complement the capabilities of CTA.